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Patented 27, 1931 UNITED s'rariss MARGEL vri-011x, or TROYES, FRANCE KNITTING NEEDLE Application led October 29, 1928, Serial No.

This invention Arelates to improvements inA knitting needles and their method of use, and has particular reference to a needle to beemployed in repairing runs in hosiery.

4The knitting needle can also be utilized for mending or darning knitted articles, and can be fitted on hosiery machinery of every de.- scription.. Its main distinguishing features are Lits automaticand reliable working due to its special design, the ease with which it allows of ldropped stitches being reknitted, the loosened part of the knitted article being stretched upon any stretching device of any description, as well as the ease with which it can be inserted into the knitted article without risk of catching the thread, as when use lis made of a pivoted latchneedle and lastly,A

its mode of working requiring a much shorter stroke than that of self-acting needles.

This needle is preferably fitted at the end of a handle, and consists of a shank or body, the end of which forms a hook, and inside which is fitted a sliding latch which closes the hook in its forward position, and disappears, at the end of its backward stroke, into the body of the needle. This latch is provided with a groove in the upper part of 4 its end, whilst its bottom end carries `a heel which projects from the shank when the latch is in its backwards or opening position, and is partly hidden inside the shank, in the forward or closing position of the latch. Said heel, or its mechanical equivalent, is utilized to effect the movement of the latch to its closing position by the engagement therewith' of a formed loop of a thread over which the shank of the need-le is passing when being moved in the direction to form anew loop. y

These 4featuresof the invention are better understood by the following description assisted by the references to the accompanying drawings which show an embodiment diagrammatically of the knitting needle which constitutes the subject-matter thereof.

'- In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a general side-view of the knitting needle,

' Figs. 2 and 3 are detailed-views on a larger scale, showing respectively a side view and a 315,675, and-in France September 27, 1928.

plan of the knitting needle in its forward or closing p osition.` Fig. 4 is a.A detailed view, similar to Fig. 2, illustrating the latch in its backwards orv opening position.

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views illustrating various phases of the mending work.v As shown by these figures,l 1 isthe shank or body of the needle, which can be fitted on a handle 2, and the free end of which forms a hook 3. The shank 1 is grooved in such a manner as to provide a longitudinal slot 4 within which slides a flat latch 5 guided by pins 6 which are solid with the shank l, and fitted through a guiding slot 7 formed in the latch 5. .The latter is hollowed at its forward end or edge, in such a manner as to partly cover the tip of the hook 3, 'in its closed position (Figs. l, 2 'and 3), whereby thread loops are allowed to slip freely over the hook 3. The latch is provided, in its upper part, with an upwardly inclined'enlargement 8, and in its bottom part with a heel 9 which, in the opening position (Fig. 4) forms a projection', and inl the closing e position v(Fig. 2), a very slight projection only from 'the shank 1, which is suitably widened for this purpose, the back of the shank 1 being provided accordingly'with a slot. The upper end of the latch is enlarged, as shown, and this enlargement is received in a widened portion-4 of the groove 4.

Figures 5 to 8, show, by Way of an exam-ple, how mending operations can be carried out. In the vertical row in which stitches have been dropped 10 and 11 are two intact loops, Whilst 12 is a stitch which is about to drop, and 13, 14 and 15 are threads belonging to dropped stitches. After the knitted article has been stretched in any lnanner, the needle, the sliding latch 5 of Which is in its open position, is inserted into the loop. 12 (Fig. v5) The needle is then pushed forward inthe direction of the arrow a, passing underneath thethread 13, until the loop 12 is placed, on thegshank 1, behindthe enlargement 8 ofthe latch 5 and until the loop 11, onthe opposite 'side of the shank, is positioned behind the heel-9 (Fig. 6). The needle is then pulled in the opposite direction, in such a manner asfto catch the thread 13 in the hook 3. In the course of this backward motion (in the direction of the arrow b) the heel 9 of the sliding latch 5 strikes the loop 11 (Fig. 7), with the consequence that the latch is closed, owing to the motion imparted to the needle. This motion is further aided by the fact that the loop 12 rests behind the enlargement 8, and the combination of these two arrangements guarantees the closing of the latch. Although the engagement of the loop 11 with the heel on the under side of the shank is sufficient to throw the latch toits closing position, the fact that the upper part of the latch is also engaged by the loop 12 produces a counterl balancing' action or equalization of pressure on opposite sides of the latch which will cause it to slide more easily in the shank. After the latch has been closed, the needle is then further pulled in the direction of the arrow until a fresh loop 131 is made in the thread 13 (Fig. 8), and it is pulled by the loop 12, which, having been made up again, has slipped over the hook 3.

The needle is then again pushed forward. when the sliding latch 5 is again opened, and the hook 3 is ready to catch the upper thread 14, and the operation is thus continued gradually, by means of the motion of the latch which is operated by the loops of the thread themselves.

It is hereby clearly stated that alternative a loopy over which the needle is moving to slide said latch to closing position.

4. The method of'controlling the operation of the sliding latch of a knitting needle, which comprises utilizing the pressure of two adjacent formed loops against opposite sides of said latch to slide the same in one direction, and in suoli manner that the verticalv MARCEL VITOUX.

designs and variations of detail, as well as the use Aof equivalent means can be yutilized without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A knitting needle comprising a shank having a longitudinal slot therein, said shank being tapered at one end to form a hook, a latch slidable in said slot relative to said hook, said latch having a recess in its upper edge ad jacentlhe outer extremity thereof and also having a heel projecting through the lower surface ot' said shank, and means to guide the movements of said latch in said slot.

2. A knitting needle comprising a shank having a longitudinal slot opening into the upper surface thereof, and another slot opening through its bottom surface, said shank being tapered at one end to torni a hook, a latch slida-ble in the first named slot relative to., said hook and movable into a retracted position entirely within the conlines oi' the latter slot, said latch having a recess in its upper edge adjacent the outer end thereof and also .having a heel projecting through the second named slot and beyond the lower surface of said shank.

3. A knitting needle comprising a shank having a hook at one end, a latch slidable relative to said shank and coacting with said hook to close and open the same, and means on the under side of said latch engageable by 

